Southport Magazine

Thwop thwop thwop … my heart was racing (in a good way) long before the rotors started to move for a recent helicopter flight over my local area. 

I’ve always been a geek for flying, since I first sat in a seaplane on Seventh Lake in the Adirondacks one summer as a kid. The pull of defying gravity and leaving the ground has always been powerful, so I was really excited about my morning flight with High Tide Aviation at the Cape Fear Regional Jetport. 

After getting the safety primer and buckling in, our affable pilot Willis Tew did his final safety checks and got us off the ground in an easy maneuver. In a matter of seconds, we rose up, crossed the ICW and headed over the marshes. 

Wow. That view. 

The first thing you realize when you fly over this area, whether flying into ILM or taking a local tour like this one, is just how much water with live on, in, and around. It’s gorgeous, of course, with its creeks and tidal marshes merging into the wider expanse of river then ocean. The sailboat lazily making its way down the ICW looks like a bright white toy from above. The wide open space of it all gives an impression of ease, almost a lazy vibe that is harder to find on the ground. Yet beyond the beauty, the view made me poignantly aware of how little stands between the places we live, shop, work and relax and all that water. 

As we headed toward Caswell Beach, our pilot pointed out two boats still marooned in the marsh from Hurricane Isaias; some broken boardwalks and wrecked docks attest to the power of that storm. Still, if you look at aerial images taken just after the storm, the resilience of this area — both natural and human-made — is striking. We collectively know and accept the risks as a worthy tradeoff for living here.

We circled the lighthouse on Caswell beach, for a gorgeous 360 degree view of the area from Assembly Point to Southport to Bald Head Island and beyond. Turning back toward Oak Island, the curve of the southern-facing beach was obvious … and yes, you really can see all the way to the hazy condo towers in Myrtle Beach on a day like this. 

Tew piloted the Robinson R44 Raven with a steady hand and friendly attitude, offering insights into his flying background and time spent flying over the Cape Fear Area. He earned his Flight Instructor Certificate in January of 2020 and joined the High Tide team the following month flying tours and helping aspiring pilots accomplish their dreams”.

“The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their grueling travels across trackless lands in prehistoric times, looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space, at full speed, above all obstacles, on the infinite highway of the air.”

– Wilbur Wright

Tew didn’t start out to be a pilot; he attended NC State to study civil engineering. Two years later he enrolled online with Utah Valley University to study Aviation Administration and acquired his private helicopter pilots license at Total Flight Solutions in Louisburg NC.

“I certainly do love math,” New Said, “perhaps more specifically working with numbers, but also the pressure to perform with precise timing. I’ve been a musician all my life as well, leading first chair on upright bass all through grade school.” He says aviation brings this all together. 

He certainly seems like a natural at it, and there wasn’t one moment before or during the flight that I had even a glimmer of nervousness or concern … even with the left door taken off for the flight so the photographer could snap some amazing photos. 

Tew talks with reverence about a recent experience from the air; he had a group up for a tour and was heading over the water when they spotted a fever of stingrays migrating south.

“There had to be thousands of them,” he said. “We saw them in a line all the way from Bald Head Island up to Carolina Beach.

“We saw dolphins diving in the middle of the rays, then a humpback whale broke the surface,” he continued, the awe still evident in his voice.

His comments reinforced the second powerful realization I had while up in the air; those of us lucky enough to live, work or play here are stewards to an amazing environment. Clearly we are not in control of it (it was easy to spot the dune replenishment equipment on the beach and in the water along the shore of Oak Island, rebuilding the dune line after last year’s storm surge) yet as stewards our actions do matter. 

“Man must rise above the Earth—to the top of the atmosphere and beyond—for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.” 

– Socrates

Living as we do surrounded by water, we face the reality that our communities can be cut off and isolated pretty quickly. One bridge closed by bad weather or road work; living at “the end of the line” on fuel and grocery deliveries; roads leading here from inland prone to sudden floods; we can be cut off from the rest of the world with little warning. 

Still, our lives must go on, as they do after the storms and the floods and the tourist season and all the other inevitable parts of living where the river meets the sea. Spending a few precious moments up above it all brings a new perspective to my life on Oak Island. Perhaps nowhere else I’ve lived, from New York to California to Michigan, was I so dependent on my immediate community. 

This reality makes living in this area challenging at times … yet it also makes life profoundly sweet. Even as our ranks swell in the summer months, we remain a small town community, with locals who love the place as much as the vacationers. We might not always agree, but at heart I believe there’s an understanding that at the end of the day, not matter what the issue, we have to find a way to work it out, together. 

If you want to understand what I mean, just take to the air and soak in the wild and powerful beauty of this amazing place we call home.

High Tide Aviation is located at 4345 Airport Rd SE just off Long Beach Road in Southport. They offer helicopter and airplane tours, and also provide certified flight instruction and discovery tours. Call them at (910) 477-1926 or visit www.flyhightide.com for prices, hours and booking information.